Baby Monitors and Family Cameras being hacked around the US

Posted on Thursday, March 16, 2017
In the past few years, families have come forward saying their children's baby monitors or nanny cams have been hacked by complete strangers.
Just this week a family in Washington stated that they found their three-year-old's baby monitor was being hacked into while they were asleep - spying on their toddler and sometimes even speaking through the monitor. http://sfglobe.com/2016/01/06/stranger-hacks-familys-baby-monitor-and-talks-to-child-at-night/
Buzzfeed posted an article called "7 creepy baby monitor stories that will terrify all parents" in June 2015 - so it's been happening for a while!
How is this happening?
From our research, it looks like it's happening through the WiFi portion of the baby monitors. Rapid 7 security firm tested NINE baby monitors, you will be shocked to see the results! http://fusion.net/story/192189/internet-connected-baby-monitors-trivial-to-hack/

How can you tell if your camera's security has been compromised?
With the technology we have today, it's still hard to determine whether your monitor has been hacked or not. Other than catching the perp in the act of moving the camera it or talking into it, you really cannot tell.
You should listen to your children's concerns. Almost all claims state that children's whos cameras have been compromised has stated they were afraid of someone in their room, whether it was voices, a phone call or a physical person - almost all of them stated they were scared. And in non-verbal children, check for other signs. Such as excessive bedwetting or waking up for no reason in the night repeatedly.

So how do you protect your baby monitor from getting hijacked? Thanks to the digitally enhanced systems that are now on the market this is becoming less of a problem. In fact, it is also recommended by consumer reports to opt in a baby monitor that uses DECT rather than analog for any type of monitoring system.
Another way to help ensure better privacy is by password protection. Protect your wireless network and the device itself by setting up a strong security password (one that is easy enough for you to remember but difficult for hackers to figure out). Many cases where a system gets hacked into is due to a default password, making it easy for smart computer techs to get into. Any device that runs off of Wifi (smart phones and other OS mobile devices) is prone to hacking if not protected which can allow access to other things you wouldn't want getting into the wrong hands, such as personal information. Protect your Internet connection and set up a custom password on your device for optimal security.
One last security measure includes researching your camera or nanny cam thoroughly. Read reviews by doing a google search to see what real people are saying about the make/model of the camera; not just what the manufactures website says.

What do you do if you think your camera has been hacked?
- Unplug the camera ASAP and contact the police.
- Contact the camera's manufacturer to see what security measures you need to do to prevent this from happening again.
- Change your wireless password ASAP and run a security scan on your computer to see if anything else was compromised during the hack.

It's so scary to think that what used to be an everyday household object in now a source for some creep to spy on you and your family! Has this happened to you or someone you know? Tell us below!